Accident Report
Express Creek, south of Ashcroft - CO
1 worker caught - not buried - 2025/03/14
Backcountry Area: Aspen
Status: Final Report
Published: 2025/03/23
Authors: CAIC Staff
Accident Summary
Triggered an avalanche on a small test slope that broke above me, carrying me a couple feet down the slope. The avalanche was medium relative to the path (R3) and was relatively harmless to people (D1), breaking underneath the new snow on 1.5mm FCsf. There was a notable crack across the bed surface where the avalanche stepped down and failed on a deeper buried weak layer (large depth hoar) but did not slide on this layer.
Avalanche
Caught in an avalanche
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Date | # | Elev | Asp | Type | Trig | SizeR | SizeD | Problem Type | Location |
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03/14/2025
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1 | TL | N | SS | AS/c | R3 | D1 |
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Date, Time & Site
Date and Time
03/14/2025 -
2:30pm
(estimated) Dimensions
Max Vertical Run
30 ft
Bed Surface
Sliding Surface
O
Start Zone
Elevation
11500 ft
Comments
Area Description
Small slope on the north side of Green Mountain
Avalanche Comments
A large crack propagated across the bed surface of the avalanche to where the small avalanche stepped down to the deeper weak layer but did not slide.
Incident
Yes
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Snowpack
Cracking:
Moderate
Collapsing:
Moderate